Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) is a Telegraph features writer, novelist and broadcaster. His website is jakewallissimons.com. Follow him on Facebook here and on Twitter here. His fourth novel, Jam, which is set in a traffic jam on the M25, is out now.

Jimmy Savile report: the new BBC leadership is facing its first test

Nick Pollard's report on the BBC's decision to drop the Savile investigation is published today

The Today Programme has always been like an elder statesman with a powerful intellect who occasionally leaves the house in his underpants. This morning, for instance, nestled among excellent reports about the Italian election and the Birmingham terrorists, was a segment to which the only sane response could be to shed tears – either of despair or hilarity. Is the BBC more bitter and twisted than any other organisation, the panel were asked? Is it an exceptionally horrible and divisive place to work? Is it, like, the worst thing in the world ever? Spank me, matron, spank me.

Here was a classic piece of BBC silliness: sheer, navel gazing sado-masochism on the one hand, and a smug exhibition of "journalistic independence" on the other. It was, in fact, like listening to a spoof. But the timing of the segment must have made senior BBC executives listening to the programme choke on their cornflakes. It came, after all, on the day in which it emerged that 90 pages of evidence from the Pollard inquiry into the shelving of the Savile Newsnight investigation was to be redacted by the BBC high command. This censored material included damning testimony from senior staff, including Jeremy Paxman. Oo-er, is the BBC a bitter and twisted organisation, cooed Evan Davis, chuckling? I think we may have our answer.

Things have appeared to die down at BBCHQ since Tony Hall, the former director of the Royal Opera house, took the reins. Following the shambolic appointments of Tim Davie and George Entwistle, this looked like the right man for the job. Many, including myself, applauded his symbolic – yet highly significant – moves to rename the Audio and Music department simply "Radio", and the BBC Vision dept "Television". After all, as he pithily put it, “it’s what we and our audiences actually call them”. Let's return to common sense, he was saying. Yes, we all thought. Let's.

So. In the coming hours and days, we are going to see exactly what the man is made of. Unlike his predecessors, he has had time to bed down and steady himself for the onslaught that he knew would inevitably come. He inherited a corporation in crisis, but he knew precisely what he was letting himself in for. As a former Director of news at the BBC, he has the experience; as the former leader of the Royal Opera House, he has the clout. Or does he? With Lord McAlpine shrilly in the vanguard, we are about to find out.